


Playing House

by kuyatyong



Series: The Remaining Two Percent [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Childhood Friends, Coming of Age, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-12 05:53:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17461850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuyatyong/pseuds/kuyatyong
Summary: Jaehyun and Taeyong have been best friends ever since they were little.The summer before their senior year of high school, tired of Taeyong complaining about being single during the “most important” year of their lives, Jaehyun offers a not-so-radical solution.





	1. The One Where Taeyong Gets a Boyfriend

 

After seventeen years, Jaehyun had long stopped bothering to knock. 

Taeyong blinked once. Twice. He cast a look back upstairs to his bedroom where he had paused in the middle of his movie, thinking that he would go downstairs and find the leftover spaghetti that his mother made before leaving for her business trip last night. 

Instead, he found an intruder in his kitchen. It would probably scare him more if it wasn’t happening for the third time over the past couple of weeks.  

“You need to go grocery shopping soon.” Jaehyun informed Taeyong tactfully. His cheeks were puffed up, red sauce smeared all over lips. Taeyong let his gaze trail down from the mysterious wet patch on his shirt to the plate of leftover spaghetti in his hands. He wasn’t in the mood for this. Jaehyun grinned. 

“This breaking and entering.” Taeyong said flatly. He just wanted a peaceful night in. 

“Technically, I was only entering.” Jaehyun garbled through a mouthful of food, pointing his fork to the key still stuck in the doorknob. Taeyong sighed, sitting across the table from him, swiping the fork and cutting off a piece for himself. 

He chewed aggressively, shooting him a pointed look. “I shouldn’t have told you where the spare key was,” Taeyong groused. “It’s too much power.” 

“If you still keep the spare key under a pot,” Jaehyun laughed, taking the fork back. “I think you deserve to have your house broken into.”  

Taeyong scowled, choosing to ignore that statement. He watched Jaehyun stand up, unfolding his uselessly long legs from under the table and walking towards the fridge. “Go home.” Taeyong groaned as Jaehyun rummaged through the shelves of food. “You live  _ literally  _ ten meters away.” 

“Can’t. Jeno has the nose of a bloodhound.” Jaehyun straightened up, holding a carton of chocolate milk. He shot a sleazy smile over his shoulder. 

Taeyong wrinkled his nose. Of course. He smelled like a tequila blender.

“What are we watching tonight?” Jaehyun sat back down, drinking straight from the carton like the barbarian that he was. Taeyong scoffed, crossing his arms. “ _ I’m  _ watching High School Musical.” 

Jaehyun raised his eyebrows. 

“And no, I’m not doing it because of you.” Taeyong narrowed his eyes. High School Musical was  _ everyone’s  _ favorite guilty pleasure movie. Jaehyun was just a little more shameless than most when it comes to his taste in music and film. 

Jaehyun set down the carton of chocolate milk, now empty. “You  _ do  _ care,” he grinned. “I was starting to think that all these years meant nothing to you.” 

Taeyong huffed, reaching over to swipe the empty plate and fork away. He stomped towards the sink to wash them off, ignoring Jaehyun’s cackle behind him. He could feel his mouth pinching in the expression that Ten had coined as his ‘angry kitty’ face. 

“I don’t understand why you go to those parties when you just end up leaving to bother me after an hour or two,” he groused. 

“Good music, good company -” He could hear Jaehyun tossing the carton into the recyclable bin. Taeyong scoffed at that. He knew the kind of parties that they - meaning Jaehyun, Johnny and Ten - frequent. Good music? Company? Hardly likely. 

“Okay, fine. ” Jaehyun conceded. “I go for the alcohol.” 

“You’re not even supposed to drink yet,” Taeyong pointed out. 

“Ten’s younger than me and you never said anything to  _ him _ ,” Jaehyun complained childishly. If only his fangirls could hear him now, Taeyong thought savagely, rinsing the plate with more force than necessary.  

“Your parents have my number,” he scowled, putting the plate out in the drying rack to dry. The thought of Uncle Yunho finding out that Jaehyun had started drinking at the age of sixteen sent a shiver down his spine. “Your dad would freak out if they ever know the kind of shit you get up to.” 

“I have a feeling my papa knows.” Jaehyun hummed. 

Taeyong turned around in time to see Jaehyun stepping away from the fridge. At the bottom of the shopping list pinned on its metallic door was Jaehyun’s handwriting, large, sprawling and entirely too pretty for someone who spent a lot of his time roughhousing on the court. 

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he did,” He agreed. They started walking upstairs to Taeyong’s room, Jaehyun hot on his heels. 

“I was just starting the third movie,” Taeyong informed him as they entered his room. Jaehyun made a beeline towards his closet. He pointed a warning finger at him, “I’m not going back to the first movie just so you can sing along to Breaking Free again.” 

“That’s not fair!” Jaehyun complained, not looking up from where he was rummaging through his clothes. Taeyong rolled his eyes. How old was this guy, really? 

He turned around, setting his laptop on his bedside drawer and working on pulling his pillows and blankets to the floor. His bed was too small for the two of them to comfortably watch a movie together, ‘laptop-on-stomach-double-chin-on’ watching a movie. Spooning was an option but Taeyong was never going to able to look beyond Jaehyun’s broader frame if he were to be the big spoon. And he’d rather die than be the small spoon and subject himself to Jaehyun’s awful habit of blowing raspberries on his neck. 

“Don’t even try,” He snapped, turning in time to slap Jaehyun’s hand away from his laptop. Jaehyun pulled a face. Taeyong warned, “Not in my household.” 

“You suck,” Jaehyun sank to the floor. 

“And you have cooties,” Taeyong snorted, setting his laptop a good foot away from them as he sat beside Jaehyun, backs resting against his bed. 

“If anyone would have cooties, it would be you.” Jaehyun snorted. Taeyong kicked his shin as he threw a duvet over his legs. “You had your first kiss at eight years old. Slut.” 

“We literally had our first kisses with the same person.” Taeyong huffed. 

“I’m not sure that’s how it - wait,” Jaehyun suddenly sat straight up, eyes wide. Taeyong cautiously braced himself. He knew that posture. That how’s Jaehyun sat when he’s suddenly hit with a dumb “philosophical” realization. He would recognize it anywhere. 

“ _ Are cooties just how adults warn children against STDs?”  _ Jaehyun whispered. 

“Fuck off.” Taeyong sighed, hitting pause on that conversation by hitting play on the laptop. He knew that there was no stopping Jaehyun from bringing it up later when they’re about to sleep at three in the morning. 

“Even if we did kiss the same person, you’ve kissed a lot of other guys anyway.” Jaehyun commented. “There was Yunjin, then it was Suho, then -” 

Taeyong wrinkled his nose at the thought of his past.  

“- it was Jeongcheol a couple of years ago, then you met Seo -” 

“Don’t,” Taeyong clapped a hand over Jaehyun’s mouth. He raised an eyebrow at him. 

Jaehyun slowly reached up and pried his fingers away, looking at him with an expression caught between genuine concern and, because he’s an asshole, slight amusement. “Taeyong, are you still -?” Jaehyun started asking. 

“No,” He retorted, rolling his eyes. “It’s been months.” 

Taeyong dutifully ignored Jaehyun’s gaze as he watched the movie unfold. Seventeen years together had given him a PhD in Lee Taeyong Behavioral Studies and, unlike Johnny, Jaehyun wasn’t scared of Taeyong’s threats to go on a cooking strike whenever they try to get him to face a problem he didn’t want to deal with just yet. He could cook just fine on his own. 

“It’s been a while since you’ve last dated someone.” Jaehyun said delicately, a few minutes later. He may be an asshole, but he was tactful enough not to point out that it had been the longest it has been since they entered high school that Taeyong wasn’t falling in and out of mad infatuation. 

“Yeah,” Taeyong sighed, sitting straight up. “I need to get back into it.” 

“Maybe Johnny would know someone,” Jaehyun mused out loud. Taeyong made an acknowledging noise at the back of his throat, giving the thought an honest consideration. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Johnny did - he seemed to know everyone. 

But - “I don’t think so.” Taeyong dismissed the idea. 

“Why?” Jaehyun furrowed his eyebrows. 

“Because,” He sighed exasperatedly, straightening up, jabbing a finger at Troy and Gabriella looking longingly at each other. “I want  _ that  _ -”

Jaehyun looked at the screen, then back at him. He had a perplexed expression on his face that Taeyong desperately wanted to smack right off. “You want to be a het?”

He was met with a pillow to the face. 

“What the fuck - no!” Taeyong scowled. 

“It doesn’t really suit you, anyway.” Jaehyun murmured, tucking the cushion under his chin. 

Taeyong only scowled at him. “I want  _ romance  _ -” He stressed the word. “I want someone to walk me to my classes, to go to those dumb basketball games with, invite me to prom, sneak out with me at nights, go on weekend road trips with -” 

“You know,” Jaehyun exhaled. “The chances of that are a bit low if your ex-boyfriends wouldn’t even  _ go  _ to school.” 

He raised his hands up in surrender at the venomous glare Taeyong shot him. 

“I’m just saying,” He pointed out, once the murderous glint had left Taeyong’s eyes. “You don’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to dating.” 

“I know,” Taeyong grumbled, tucking his knees under his chin. His eyes watched the screen longingly. “I just, I don’t know - I - it would be nice,” he mumbled.

He could feel Jaehyun look away from him and at the screen. It wasn’t the first time they talked about this and he could tell by the creases on Jaehyun’s forehead that he was either thinking - which, considering that it was about midnight at that point, was highly unlikely - or more than just about done with the subject but, still - 

Taeyong mumbled against the fabric of his sweatpants. “It’s our last year of high school, Jae. I know that people think it’s overrated but -”

_ I need to know.  _

Jaehyun was quiet for a minute, face unreadable. Taeyong exhaled. He looked down at his feet. His hands reached up to cradle his cheek. 

“Date me, then.” 

Taeyong blinked, turning his head slowly at Jaehyun who wasn’t looking away from the screen at all. On screen, Chad was looking mischievously at Troy under the hot afternoon sun as the starting chords of  _ The Boys are Back  _ started playing. He must’ve misheard because Jaehyun would never - oh. 

“ _ Pffttt _ \- yeah, right.” He giggled, way ahead of the punchline. 

“What?” Jaehyun turned to look at him, eyebrow arched. “What’s so funny about that?” 

Taeyong’s laughter died out the longer that Jaehyun stared at him. His eyes widened once he realized that Jaehyun wasn’t going to laugh or crack a joke anytime soon so - 

“Wait,” he straightened up, incredulous. “ _ Seriously _ ?”  

“Yeah,” Jaehyun shrugged, turning back to where Troy was running after Gabriella. Casually. As though he hadn’t made the most ridiculous suggestion in the history of -

Taeyong slapped a hand over his forehead. “Jung Jaehyun, are you  _ drunk _ ?”

“I’m not  _ drunk _ .” Jaehyun scoffed loftily, looking at Taeyong as though he was offended by the accusation. He lowered the volume of the movie.  

“How many drinks have you had tonight?” Taeyong eyed him. He didn’t look drunk at all. His hair was starting break from the usual slicked back style he wore for parties and he was wearing a shirt that  _ Taeyong  _ hadn’t worn since middle school. 

“I can have three bottles of soju and not be blackout drunk.” Jaehyun said dryly before stealing a look at Taeyong. “Unlike a certain someone.” 

He sputtered at the sheer  _ audacity  _ when Jaehyun turned back to the screen. 

“Date me. It’s not a big deal.” He repeated. 

Taeyong stared at him for a few minutes, disbelievingly. 

Jaehyun sighed, pausing the film. Taeyong jumped a little when he turned towards him, face drawn in clear exasperation. “Are you sure  _ you’re  _ not drunk?” 

“I’m not  _ drunk.”  _ Taeyong scowled, burrowing a little further into his blanket. 

“Then what’s the problem?” He pressed. Taeyong ducked his head, refusing to meet his inquiring gaze. Were they seriously talking about this? 

“It’s just that - well, uh, we’re  _ friends  _ -” He stammered. “And, don’t you - I mean -”

Jaehyun raised his eyebrows, clearly perplexed. Taeyong grumbled, trying to get his thoughts in order, too flustered to think clearly because  _ what the heck -  _

“It’s  _ weird _ !” Taeyong whined, reaching over to nudge Jaehyun’s face away from his direction. He didn’t budge, staring at Taeyong with an unreadable expression. Taeyong was starting to feel too warm - did he not open a window or something? His eyes flickered everywhere else in his room that’s not Jaehyun. 

A lavender hoodie, way long overdue for a wash, hanging over the back of his chair. Jaehyun left it there one afternoon when they got caught in a sudden summer rain a couple of weeks ago. The plastic fork that Taeyong used to poke Jaehyun yesterday. They were watching Ponyo for the hundredth time that summer and Jaehyun had the sheer  _ nerve  _ to fall asleep. The stuffed toys on the shelf hanging over the bed, won for him by Johnny … and Jaehyun. 

Taeyong groaned inwardly, questioning his dependence on his bestfriends. 

“I get it,” he turned to see Jaehyun leaning back, head on Taeyong’s mattress as he stared up at the glow-in-the-dark star stickers on his ceiling. Jaehyun seemed to be reconsidering the situation. “We’ve been friends for so long,” he conceded. “It would be weird to just suddenly start dating.”

Relieved, Taeyong let out a breathy laugh, drawing his knees up to his chest. 

“I mean, if we broke up, that would be awkward as hell.” Jaehyun contemplated. Taeyong let his head rest back on his mattress too and they stared up at the glowing neon stars together. “We would have to introduce each other as our ex from that point on, draw up a treaty to discuss the territory of your house and mine -”

“Ruby’s dog house would the demilitarized zone,” he mused. Jaehyun had been the one to accompany him to the animal shelter, helping ten-year-old Taeyong pick out the sniveling pup at the corner of the cage to take home. He had also been the one to help raise Ruby all these years, so it wouldn’t feel right to call her  _ his  _ dog, really. 

“Not to mention the custody battle for our friends _.”  _ Jaehyun visibly shuddered. Taeyong giggled, turning his head to look at Jaehyun who was lamenting, “ _ We would have to decide who keeps Johnny -” _

“You.” Taeyong said flatly. Jaehyun sniggered, voice low and throaty. “Keep him.” 

“I’m serious.” He grumbled as Jaehyun laughed harder. Taeyong watched Jaehyun’s features scrunch up as he snickered at Johnny’s expense. 

“And I’m not even your type,” Jaehyun mused. Humming, Taeyong let his head fall back on the bed. He thought about all the boys that he had dated in the past and, in a move that felt completely, absolutely blasphemous - thought about Jaehyun. 

Taeyong was a little surprised that he came up blank at the idea of what would it be like to date one of his best friends. It wasn’t the warm, fuzzy feelings that he got when he had imagined going out with one of his beaus in the past, but it wasn’t the overwhelming dread that filled his stomach at dating someone like, say, Johnny. 

So what would it be like to date Jaehyun? 

What would Jaehyun be like as a boyfriend? 

“Let me see: I don’t have any daddy issues. I’ve never been in jail. _ I don’t even own a leather jacket.  _ Or a moleskine journal! _ ” _ Jaehyun stretched his arms out, careful not to touch Taeyong without permission. “I don’t wear beanies and run a blog about our capitalist society and maybe an indie band like -,” 

“Indie bands like?” Taeyong prompted, smiling now. 

“Like, I don’t know -” Jaehyun made an aborted hand gesture at the empty air. “Fucking, like, Arctic Monkeys or some shit.” 

“ _ Arctic Monkey _ s.” Taeyong wheezed. Jaehyun looked at him, grinning. The movie continued to play in the background, completely forgotten at this point. “That’s, like, the most un-obscure Indie band there is.” 

“Aw, shucks.” Jaehyun laughed. “Guess I’m really not your type, then.” 

“You’re really not.” Taeyong agreed. They both giggled at that, Taeyong’s laughter tinged with a bit of relief. Dating Jaehyun … 

_ Really.  _ Taeyong thought, snorting inwardly. 

He shook his head. Jaehyun was  _ Jaehyun.  _ He was that snotty kid who cried when his mom left and made Taeyong hold his hand during their first day in kindergarten. The same ten-year-old brat that used to sleep walk into the kitchen in the middle of the night to drink milk straight out of the carton. Everything about the idea of dating Jaehyun should be in the area of his mind going Nope. Nada. Zilch. 

Still …. Taeyong paused. 

“I’m not a very exciting guy.” Jaehyun admitted, looking up at the ceiling, at the glow-in-the-dark stars that he had in his own bedroom the next house over. “I’m not like any of your exes who had that air of mystery you always seemed to obsess over - everything about me, every event that shaped me into who I am today, bad or good, all of them happened with you by my side. You know me already.”

He looked at him and Taeyong realized just then that he had been staring at him.. 

“It’s up to you if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” Jaehyun murmured.  _ Ridiculous _ , Taeyong thought. Everything was completely and utterly going in a way that he never expected that evening to go. It should feel weird, it should trigger all of Taeyong’s warning signs. If it were anyone else, he would’ve laughed nervously by now, shut down the conversation at the first opportunity he got. 

_ You know me.  _ Of course he did. It was Jaehyun. Taeyong knew him like the back of his hand. He knew that Jaehyun had a penchant for badly written, predictable late night dramas and that he always rooted for the second male lead despite all the odds. He was overly, stupidly competitive, going as far as to stomp on Taeyong’s feet just to win at a game of Mario Kart. He was simple-minded, yes or no, angry or not - the type of person who would say what he wanted to eat when prompted. Jaehyun was uncomplicated. Safe.

Jaehyun always made Taeyong feel safe. 

“I can’t promise that I would be your most exciting, most passionate love story.” Taeyong swallowed at Jaehyun’s words. He was straightforward. He had always meant what he said. Jaehyun stared at him right in the eye. “But you deserve at least one relationship that doesn’t end in a total catastrophe.” 

_ Hey.  _ Fragments of a memory - one that Taeyong doesn’t particularly like to dwell on - suddenly came to mind. He breathed in deeply. 

“Let me be the one you won’t regret.” Jaehyun requested. 

Taeyong exhaled. Of course. 

_ It’s just me.  _

 


	2. The One with the Cup of Coffee

**** “Can I take your order?” 

Cheated. Taeyong felt swindled out of the three hours he could have spent sleeping before Jaehyun had to wake up for basketball practice. Of course, Taeyong could have woken up four hours later and he would still have arrived in school in time for the student council meeting but Jaehyun had always been one of those abhorrent morning people who refused to let anyone get any rest while he himself was up and early. 

Taeyong had woken up to the jaunty tune of Jaehyun whistling around his room, pulling on his jeans and another one of Taeyong’s shirts. Taeyong thought he had a chance of falling back to sleep when Jaehyun cheered, finding one of his letterman jackets in Taeyong’s closet. Why it was there, Taeyong didn’t know, but Jaehyun was determined to get the truth out of him. He whined, giggled and complained playfully, refusing to shut up unless he agreed to get breakfast with him. 

“- want? Hey?” Snapping to attention, Taeyong blinked, trying to fight the sleep weighing his eyelids down. By the time he was coherent enough to realize that Jaehyun had been talking to  _ him _ , Jaehyun was turning back to the drive-through speaker. “He’ll have a happy meal. Hotcakes.” 

He was looking the other way, but Taeyong could see the lift of cheek. The bastard was smiling, probably enjoying his little joke. 

Taeyong scowled. What a kid. 

A kid, he reminded himself, that he’s now apparently dating. 

He grumbled, burrowing himself closer to his sweater, choosing to ignore Jaehyun’s little jab at his height. Taeyong resolved to stealing a couple of bites of his hash browns later. 

Squinting at the morning light, he drew his hood up. 

The student council meeting was at ten, so he could probably get some shut-eye in the locker room. Assuming that Jaehyun doesn’t wake him up at around nine for their fifteen minute break, that is. Then again, he could go to the council room instead - 

“Hey, wake up.” 

“Go away.” Taeyong whined, struggling to open his eyes. He batted his hands blindly, trying to shove Jaehyun away from where he was shoving a carton box containing his breakfast right under his nose. He cracked an eye open. “Where’s my coffee?” 

Jaehyun took a long, deep sip of his Americano, cocking an eyebrow at him. 

“I’m not giving you hot liquid when you’re all ...” He waved a vague hand at the lavender blurb that was Taeyong melding into the car seat. He scowled at Jaehyun, eyes squinty at the morning sun. 

“When I’m all  _ what _ ?” Taeyong asked testily. 

Jaehyun grinned. They stopped at a red light despite knowing full well that the officers would have been been too hungover to patrol that early on a Monday morning. Jaehyun was a varsity player and Taeyong was the student council president, and neither of them could really afford a mark on their permanent records at their final year before university. 

“Jung,” He warned. 

“I’ll treat you to coffee later,” Jaehyun nodded to the security guard stationed at the gate. He still had that annoying toothpaste-advertisement-smile on and the sight of it so early on the day made Taeyong nuzzle into the fabric of his sweater resentfully. Jaehyun took a big bite of his breakfast burger, eyes crinkling up as he grinned at him. 

Taeyong kind of wished he would choke. 

But it would really be pathetic, even for him, to lose a boyfriend in less than twenty-four hours. 

 

* * *

The sound of a dozen sneakers squeaking on the polished floors made Taeyong want to turn his ears inside out. Despite having gone to the gymnasium a million times since freshman year, the suffocating smell of heterosexual men never failed to make Taeyong gag at first whiff.

“Jung Jaehyun! Lee TY!” Ten’s voice rang out. Taeyong groaned as Jaehyun surged forward to meet their friend. His grip on Jaehyun’s letterman jacket made him stumble forward, crashing into his best friend’s back as he performed an annoyingly elaborate handshake with a sophomore named Donghyuck. Taeyong grumbled, releasing his grip on Jaehyun as Ten came over, already pink-cheeked from the burst of activity. 

He stared reproachfully at the peeling letters clinging for life at Jaehyun’s back.  _ Jung Jaehyun _ , it said on the faded navy blue fabric. #1. 

Taeyong snorted at that. The only thing that Jaehyun was number one at, was annoying the living hell out of Taeyong. Well, that, and one other thing. 

Johnny certainly ran him a close second. He still commented on Taeyong’s old Facebook posts from 2011 and  _ still  _ constantly, incessantly pestered him about his sister’s well-being despite her being in a loving relationship and despite being in a loving relationship himself. 

But Taeyong supposed that as their best friend, it was part of the packaged deal. 

Bestfriend. Boyfriend. 

Taeyong wrinkled his nose, temples throbbing at the thought. 

“Hey man,” Jaehyun clapped his shoulder. “Where’s Johnny?” 

“Still in bed,” A devious smile stretched across Ten’s face and Taeyong felt a shiver crawl up his spine at the sight of it. The expression on Ten’s face had been the precursor to a lot of the bad decisions that Taeyong made in high school. It was also the trigger for a lot of the trauma he harbored after one too many explicit accounts of the kind of Sunday night parties that they go to. 

Ten laughed as Jaehyun pulled a face, turning to Taeyong, careful not to step too close or touch him. Ten sang, eyes drifting up to the mess on top of Taeyong’s head and back down. “Morning, Sleeping Beauty.” 

Taeyong shot him a glare. Ten grinned, holding his hands up in surrender. 

“Practice begins a bit,” he informed them. It looked as though, despite Taeyong’s valiant sacrifice to wake up at ass o’clock, most of the team had gotten to the gym earlier than they had. Everyone was dressed and ready to go. “You better get dressed, captain.” 

“Alright,” Jaehyun nodded. “Tae, can you get me a water bottle from the vending -”

A shrill whistle announced the coach’s arrival and Ten winced, shooting Jaehyun a cautious look, before jogging off to join the rest of the team. Taeyong hitched his backpack higher up on his shoulder. He briefly considered getting some more paperwork done before the meeting but he knew that without the proper caffenation, he didn’t have a prayer on focusing on things like  _ budget plans  _ or  _ academic calendars.  _

“Tae?” Startled, Taeyong looked up. Jaehyun had a weird expression on his face, waving a hand at his face. “Are you sure you’re alright? Do you need me to drive you back?” 

“Nah,” he shook his head. The thought of going back to his bed was tempting but the thought of returning to school for the  _ second  _ time in a  _ single  _ day made him want to cry. There was no imaginable force in the world who could tear him away from his bed once he had returned to his beloved duvet. 

“Are -” Jaehyun was cut off by the second whistle. He winced. 

“I’ll be okay.” Taeyong promised. He could see their coach looking over at the impatiently. Jaehyun frowned. “I’ll be in the council room. I’m gonna go sleep for a couple of hours before the meeting.” 

Jaehyun didn’t seem convinced. 

“I’ll even get you some food from the vending machine for your breaktime,” He swore, vividly aware of all the eyes watching them. It made his skin crawl with embarrassment as his traitorous mind helpfully pointed out that him and his  _ boyfriend  _ are holding back the practice. 

Logically, he knew that nobody  _ knew  _ just yet, not even Johnny. And it wasn’t even the first time that Jaehyun had gotten so overprotective over him in school. Still - 

“Taeyong - ” Jaehyun took another step forward when the whistle rang again. 

“Jung!” Coach Park called out. “Come on, huddle up!” 

“You better get dressed.” He winced, taking a step back and another, until he backing out of the gymnasium. Jaehyun looked reluctant but when he took a look over his shoulder at his team. Taeyong took the chance and bolted, hastily waving. “I’ll see you at your break!” 

As soon as the gymnasium doors closed behind him, Taeyong let out a sigh of relief. 

The hallways were quiet and Taeyong could hear his footsteps echo as he walked towards the council room. He could practically the clamor of students already. It was a week before their final year of high school begun and Taeyong felt his heart rate shoot straight up at the thought of it. 

He fished the key to the council room out of his pocket. 

Taeyong’s head throbbed at the thought of all the work he had to do before school even begun. And then there was the pile of working waiting for him once school  _ actually  _ started. University applications, coursework, extra-curriculars …

“Nope,” He said out loud as he opened the door. “Not going there.” 

Pausing, Taeyong glanced around the room. He was really losing it, Taeyong inwardly groaned, flicking the light switch on. Talking to himself. He was going absolutely insane. 

And he only blamed Jaehyun. 

He had an hour before he had to run back to the gym for the basketball team’s first break at nine o’clock. After that, his meetings would start at ten o’clock. Taeyong exhaled, deciding to get some more work done before then. 

Setting his bag down, he took out the stack of budget proposals he had to breeze through before next Friday. The administrator for students activities had gotten hitched sometime over summer vacation and hadn’t returned to work until last week, leaving most of the prep work for the student council - for  _ Taeyong  _ \- to the last minute. 

Mentally, he listed down all the work he would have to do before the annual meeting with the board of directors. Taeyong opened up his laptop. He arranged a meeting with the art club and the chorale presidents before lunch time. Most of the prep work for their discussion was done, but it wouldn’t hurt to get started on the groundwork for the other clubs. 

They had about twenty or so student organizations and each of them would have to meet up with Taeyong for the initial presentation of all their budget proposals. The very thought of the endless stream of bargaining, compromising and revising made Taeyong want to tear his hair out, but he lived for this sort of thing. 

Granted, he would probably be bald by the time that homecoming rolled around. 

Taeyong closed his eyes, trying the chase the imagery of his shiny, bald head by listing down all the events that he had to organize for the year. Because of the  _ lovely  _ school administrators, Taeyong would have to juggle planning the pep rally, homecoming dance and the budget proposals along with his actual schoolwork. 

He blinked, struggling to keep his eyes open. Maybe he could convince Jaehyun or Ten or maybe even Dongyoung when he got to school to treat him to a candy bar or two. Caffeine  _ and  _ sugar should keep him awake. 

Putting his hands to the keyboard, he tried to remember the prominent members of the art club and the chorale. There was that kid in his advanced art course, Taeyong couldn’t be bothered to remember his name and couldn’t summon the strength to stand up to search for the student records. He might have to talk to Ten and maybe Jaehyun could introduce him to someone from the chorale. 

Speaking of Jaehyun, Taeyong yawned. He rested his chin on the palm of his hand as he tried to find that list he had made on the groundwork for the pep rally to be held before the first basketball game of the year. 

His eyelids fluttered.

It was too cold, much too cold and way too early to be out of bed. 

He didn’t even have time to make his bed, Taeyong lamented, resting his head on his arms. Jaehyun had pulled him out of his bed and all but carried him to his car thirty minutes before his practice started. It took twenty-five minutes to get to school from they lived.

Taeyong let his eyelids close. He would rest his eyes while envisioning themes for this year’s homecoming dance. Maybe he could go with the lantern theme he had proposed for last year. Maybe he could recycle the ‘starry night’ theme that won the theme bid the same year. 

Maybe he could propose something with flowers? 

Maybe he … 

Maybe …..

 

* * *

 

Taeyong jolted awake by an annoying, insistent buzzing. He blindly groped around in the darkness. He sat up, rubbing at his eyes, a sudden chill shooting up his spine as a weight lifted off his shoulders. Why was his phone acting up?

Unlocking the phone, he squinted at the blinding screen. 

_ 9:55 am,  _ the alarm read. Five minutes before his meetings. 

He stifled a yawn with his palm, looking around at the room. Taeyong could’ve sworn that the lights were on before he had dozed off. It couldn’t have been a blackout since the lights were still on in the hallways. Vaguely, he could still hear the sounds of various sports teams practicing in the distance. 

Taeyong paused. His laptop was set carefully a couple of feet away from him, papers tucked away safely from the danger of getting crumpled up by his napping form. 

A can of iced coffee sat on the table. Vanilla latte, Taeyong’s favorite flavor of coffee from the vending machine. The last dregs of condensation slid down to the table as Taeyong watched, unable to register what he was seeing. 

He blinked.  _ 9:56 am,  _ his phone read as he slid his thumb across the screen to silence the alarm.  He didn’t even  _ set  _ an alarm, come to think of it.

Taeyong stretched his arms out. His joints protested at the sudden movement.  

Maybe Dongyoung was onto something when he called him grandfather after all, Taeyong mused, twisting his torso from side to side. 

Then, he stopped dead. 

On the floor behind him was a navy blue jacket.

Taeyong blinked. In the darkness, the peeling orange gold letters almost seemed offensively bright.  _ Jung Jaehyun,  _ they read.

_ Of course, _ he thought, leaning over to pick the jacket up. There was no one else who knew the password to his phone, who knew his schedule well enough to know when to wake him up. 

 

 

Jaehyun had always been the best at taking care of him. 

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> [hit me up on twt uwu](https://twitter.com/kuyatyong)


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